I'd appreciate some feedback about using a 40" LCD flatscreen primarily as a PC monitor and, as a monitor, primarily for SL. Advantages/ disadvantages? Other than a PC input, are there other characteristics of the TV that I should look for?
Also, if you use the LCD TV as monitor *and* a second, smaller monitor, how did you make the connection?
Thanks.
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Thormec Micheline
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01-28-2008 12:55
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Stormy Dyrssen
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01-28-2008 12:59
I don't know anything using an T.V for a monitor, but I do use a dual monitor for work every day. I don't know what the cable is called that connects them, but if you go into any computer or office store, they should be able to help you out.
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Kalderi Tomsen
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01-28-2008 13:03
I just bought a large screen TV and it has a PC plug on it - two different ones, in fact. haven't tried it yet, but I suppose I should. Might be kind of scary to see things that big!
 My laptop has a video out plug so I'd just plug it into that.I think to do that on a regular desktop you'd need another graphics card, no? _____________________
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2k Suisei
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01-28-2008 13:05
Your video card should have 2 DVI connectors on the back. Just plug your TV and monitor directly into those connectors.
Your TV will probably have a VGA connector on the back. So you'll be wanting a DVI to VGA cable. Ideally you'll be wanting your TV to support 1080p (1920x1080) for the best picture quality. |
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Brenda Connolly
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01-28-2008 13:06
My new TV has a computer input as well, but I'd need an awfully long cable, the computer is a hard wired desktop on the other side of the house.
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Trout Recreant
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01-28-2008 13:26
The only thing that would weird me out is the distance. I'm used to a sitting at a desk with the screen right in front of me. With a 40 inch screen, my eyeballs would melt if I was only 18 inches away. It could turn out pretty cool, though if you figured out how far away to sit and configured everything right.
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Rebecca Proudhon
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01-28-2008 13:50
I'd appreciate some feedback about using a 40" LCD flatscreen primarily as a PC monitor and, as a monitor, primarily for SL. Advantages/ disadvantages? Other than a PC input, are there other characteristics of the TV that I should look for? Also, if you use the LCD TV as monitor *and* a second, smaller monitor, how did you make the connection? Thanks. If its a true Monitor then it would work fine, but if its a 40" Tv then it will have a limited resolution and look very grainy, and the text may be unreadable. depends on the inputs on the TV. Some Tvs are alos designed to be monitors as well but have lower resolution and although readable are still quite grainy looking. When I plug my computer into my 36" HD TV which is 1080i then the picture is sort of okay at a distance, but text is virtually unreadable. It also depends on the resolution of your video card. I use a Dell 27" flat screen monitor and I find it the perfect size, huge but not too big and it can handle my Nvidia 8800 videocards at full resolution. First I had bought the 30" but sent it back and got the 27" instead. The best HD TV's right now are called 1080p but still are not the very high resolution as a flatscreen computer monitor. |
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Trout Recreant
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01-28-2008 14:02
If its a true Monitor then it would work fine, but if its a 40" Tv then it will have a limited resolution and look very grainy, and the text may be unreadable. depends on the inputs on the TV. Some Tvs are alos designed to be monitors as well but have lower resolution and although readable are still quite grainy looking. When I plug my computer into my 36" HD TV which is 1080i then the picture is sort of okay at a distance, but text is virtually unreadable. It also depends on the resolution of your video card. I use a Dell 27" flat screen monitor and I find it the perfect size, huge but not too big and it can handle my Nvidia 8800 videocards at full resolution. First I had bought the 30" but sent it back and got the 27" instead. The best HD TV's right now are called 1080p but still are not the very high resolution as a flatscreen computer monitor. You can actually get 1080i now, which is better, but it will set you back a lot more $$$. I've got a 24in monitor on order, and frankly, I think it might be a little big for my needs, but my primary form of electronic entertainment is the computer as opposed to the tv, so I figure the computer warrants a bigger chunk of my entertainment budget. _____________________
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Yosef Okelly
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01-28-2008 14:26
There is a big diference between monitor performance and regular TV (even if it is HD) performance. Resoultion as already mentioned is one. Another problem you will have is with ghosting or smearing. Pixels on a TV just do not repond the same as monitor. This will noticably degrade the graphic quality.
In other words, save the reciept so you can take it back. I don't think you would be happy with it for anything but watching TV. |
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Brenda Connolly
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01-28-2008 15:20
You can actually get 1080i now, which is better, but it will set you back a lot more $$$. I've got a 24in monitor on order, and frankly, I think it might be a little big for my needs, but my primary form of electronic entertainment is the computer as opposed to the tv, so I figure the computer warrants a bigger chunk of my entertainment budget. No, Rebecca is right, 1080p is the new generation. I just bought a 46in Sony LCD in 1080p _____________________
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Trout Recreant
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01-28-2008 15:31
No, Rebecca is right, 1080p is the new generation. I just bought a 46in Sony LCD in 1080p Ah nuts. I just got a 42 in. Plasma. I actually figured out the difference between 1080i and 1080p, but I must have gotten them mixed up. ok - I stand corrected. The issue for me would still be that I would have to be halfway across the room to be able to see it. I'm happy with the monitor I have coming - which hopefully will make it into the stream of commerce Wednesday. Sigh. I knew I should have just ordered parts from Newegg and built my own damn computer. _____________________
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Pratyeka Muromachi
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01-28-2008 15:31
There is a big diference between monitor performance and regular TV (even if it is HD) performance. Resoultion as already mentioned is one. Another problem you will have is with ghosting or smearing. Pixels on a TV just do not repond the same as monitor. This will noticably degrade the graphic quality. In other words, save the reciept so you can take it back. I don't think you would be happy with it for anything but watching TV. prffffft! Got a Sharp Aquos 1080P 42" 4ms. with DVI input, 12' cable between PC and TV, and 19" nec LCD monitor... when I run SL on both, it's like flying... no ghosting, no smearing. _____________________
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Brenda Connolly
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01-28-2008 15:56
Ah nuts. I just got a 42 in. Plasma. I actually figured out the difference between 1080i and 1080p, but I must have gotten them mixed up. ok - I stand corrected. The issue for me would still be that I would have to be halfway across the room to be able to see it. I'm happy with the monitor I have coming - which hopefully will make it into the stream of commerce Wednesday. Sigh. I knew I should have just ordered parts from Newegg and built my own damn computer. I still have a few bucks left for a new monitor. I saw a 21in Viewsonic LCD that will come in right under budget, to replace my 17" crt. _____________________
Don't you ever try to look behind my eyes. You don't want to know what they have seen.
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Thormec Micheline
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Big thanks...
01-28-2008 16:25
Thanks very much to all of you who responded. Good information - certainly more than I can get from a salesman at the friendly retail chain. I'd ask them, "Do people buy these flat screens to use as monitors?" "Oh yeah!" Then I wonder, "Well why aren't any of the 100 display models attached to a PC?"
Sounds like I should go 1080p and make sure I can return it if not totally satisfied. Thanks again and don't hesitate to IM in world if you think of any other related advice. |
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Haravikk Mistral
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01-28-2008 17:49
How close are you sitting to the screen? I use a 32" HDTV as my main screen plus a 20" monitor I had before. But I sit a good distance, maybe 2m, from the screen due to the set-up of my room. A stack of books as a mouse-pad, wireless keyboard and mouse and I'm good to go with my computer from my sofa.
Obviously the resolution on an HDTV isn't great in monitor terms, but at this distance it's perfect for a mixture of good detail and readability, since 1080i/p equate to 1366 x 768 pixels screen resolution. Be warned though that most graphics cards don't support this so you may have to use another resolution like 1280 x 720 which is about the right proportion but not as crisp. Also, a lot of games (not SL though) don't support HDTV resolutions, and some don't even support widescreen still! But that's partly due to crappy game design, since it's not hard to make a game that can support any resolution the computer can handle. Some games can have settings.ini files modified to make them work though if you're lucky. SL on a big TV is however AWESOME. This one basically fills most of my view, it kicks ass. _____________________
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Rebecca Proudhon
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01-28-2008 19:33
You can actually get 1080i now, which is better, but it will set you back a lot more $$$. . The 1080p is the newer and more expensive one. Not interlaced. Easy to mix them up, I've done that myself. Although they have the same resolution, the 1080i is interlaced. Edit: I see someone else already corrected you. |
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Rebecca Proudhon
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01-28-2008 19:42
I still have a few bucks left for a new monitor. I saw a 21in Viewsonic LCD that will come in right under budget, to replace my 17" crt. Take a look at the price on the beautiful 24" Dells I think it's dropped alot. I had read somewhere that they took a vote at PC gamer magazine (I think---or one of those magazines) and the Dell 24" was the favorite for 'gamers. It's nicer then the Viewsonics. |
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Brenda Connolly
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01-28-2008 20:01
Take a look at the price on the beautiful 24" Dells I think it's dropped alot. I had read somewhere that they took a vote at PC gamer magazine (I think---or one of those magazines) and the Dell 24" was the favorite for 'gamers. It's nicer then the Viewsonics. Yes I saw the Dell, a little more than I want to pay, but not too much that I am not considering it, since my machine is a Dell. It's about a $50 difference as far as I can see, at least in store. I haven't checked on line yet. _____________________
Don't you ever try to look behind my eyes. You don't want to know what they have seen.
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Sue Peregrine
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01-28-2008 20:52
I only use a 19" monitor everyday, but HAD to hook up the laptop to our new 47" Christmas present for a bit. It was AWESOME as long as I sat far enough back from the TV! Don't think I would use it all the time like that. Heck, the others in the house wouldn't let me take it over
 BTW, we used the HDMI ports. |
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Pratyeka Muromachi
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Join date: 14 Apr 2005
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01-29-2008 15:08
How close are you sitting to the screen? I use a 32" HDTV as my main screen plus a 20" monitor I had before. But I sit a good distance, maybe 2m, from the screen due to the set-up of my room. A stack of books as a mouse-pad, wireless keyboard and mouse and I'm good to go with my computer from my sofa. Obviously the resolution on an HDTV isn't great in monitor terms, but at this distance it's perfect for a mixture of good detail and readability, since 1080i/p equate to 1366 x 768 pixels screen resolution. Be warned though that most graphics cards don't support this so you may have to use another resolution like 1280 x 720 which is about the right proportion but not as crisp. Also, a lot of games (not SL though) don't support HDTV resolutions, and some don't even support widescreen still! But that's partly due to crappy game design, since it's not hard to make a game that can support any resolution the computer can handle. Some games can have settings.ini files modified to make them work though if you're lucky. SL on a big TV is however AWESOME. This one basically fills most of my view, it kicks ass. Get your facts straight... "Prior to the advent of HDTV, just about every TV displayed less than 500 scan lines. Today's HDTVs will display either 720 progressively-scanned lines (or 720p in shorthand) or 1080 interlaced lines (1080i). But a new 1080p television displays 1080 progressively-scanned lines. If you compare an older 1080i TV to a new 1080p TV, you'll find that the 1080p set has twice as many lines of resolution on the screen at any given time." http://www.magnoliaht.com/selection/knowledgecenter/1080p.asp _____________________
gone to Openlife Grid and OpenSim standalone, your very own sim on your PC, 45,000 prims, huge prims at will up to 100m, yes, run your own grid on your PC, FOR FREE!
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Thormec Micheline
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Join date: 16 Oct 2006
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Good information...
01-29-2008 16:00
Thanks. More good information. This is makin git easier to make a decision. The forums rock!
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